My last question before Saturday

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redmonkee

redmonkee

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Hi again guys as you all know by now i'm shooting my first game at Huddersfield on Sat and just have a few things I wonder if anyone can help me with :)

Firstly I'll be taking my laptop to wire images. The agency have given me a deadline of 5.30pm to send the images off.

Do you think its best to have the laptop pitch side or in the media room? Also what do you do with your gear say for instance you need the loo at half time :D
or you have to go to the media room at half time, do you just leave the camera pitch side and get a nearby steward to look after it or take the gear with you?

Also what time do you all get to the grounds for? I was thinking of getting there nice and early say 1pm or 1.30pm?
 
Keep the laptop pitchside with you, your deadline might be 5.30 but you need to be getting used to sending the shots during the match as you're shooting to try and ensure they make it to the picture editors quicker than your competition (it might not help sometimes, but its a good practice). That said, as this is your first game, you probably want to keep the laptop work for the end of the game (and half-time), as it is a very big distraction from shooting and it might be a bit damaging for you getting your first taste of league photography. Get used to the pace of the game and then perhaps start using the laptop pitchside next game. Maybe Just do your editing pitch-side at half and full-time so you at least get some feeling for using the laptop in the open air. Then move on to actually editing and sending during the game as you have to next time, as that is the hardest part.

Funnily enough, I don't think I've ever needed the toilet during a game, I think being focused on shooting/editing/sending precludes my mind wandering to that! That said, I tend to be there early (yes, an hour to an hour and a half before-hand is a good idea, to let you get everything prepared) so probably sort myself out at that point.
 
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I always find it funny that the photographers will have their 70-200/135mm hanging round their neck and back to the media room but leave their 400mm up against the advertising boards on the track.

Remember it is an offence for anyone unautorised to go on to the track so if anything goes missing its probably someone known to the club or another photographer.
 
Hi phil, be there at 1.30, get your pass from the to ticket office as it has now to be scanned in by the steward Steve!. Collect your vest from him too. There's a press room under the stand which has pies & coffee. Gear is safe pitch side if you need a pee:), wiring wise try downloading images ready for editing as & when you know you've got a good pic!, or if a goals scored, send a few @ half time ready for early sending then the rest pitch side at full time ( watch out for the sprinklers which are put on immediately after the pitch is clear & can spray over the hoardings!!). Good luck!. Kind regards Graham.
 
Bluesman graham said:
Hi phil, be there at 1.30, get your pass from the to ticket office as it has now to be scanned in by the steward Steve!. Collect your vest from him too. There's a press room under the stand which has pies & coffee. Gear is safe pitch side if you need a pee:), wiring wise try downloading images ready for editing as & when you know you've got a good pic!, or if a goals scored, send a few @ half time ready for early sending then the rest pitch side at full time ( watch out for the sprinklers which are put on immediately after the pitch is clear & can spray over the hoardings!!). Good luck!. Kind regards Graham.
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Cheers Graham :thumbs:

Is there parking for photographers? and if not where's the best place to park. Will you be there mate?
ps cheers for the sprinkler top off :)
 
Seen some of the lads at PL game editing and sending during, others stick to just half time/full time

give it ago first game and see which way you prefer editing
 
whitey said:
Seen some of the lads at PL game editing and sending during, others stick to just half time/full time

give it ago first game and see which way you prefer editing
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I can see why PL photographers edit during the game as often these shots can be seen on sky sports etc whilst games are going on so speed is key at that level.

I'd have thought half time and full time would be ok for League 1 standard :)
 
whitey said:
Seen some of the lads at PL game editing and sending during, others stick to just half time/full time

give it ago first game and see which way you prefer editing
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Well, you'll always prefer sending at half and full-time, there's a lot less stress that way! But, the competition won't be hanging around, even at lower league level the big boys will often be there and you really need to be trying to send before they do to stand any chance of competing with them, particularly if they happen to also have a runner doing it for them.

If you shoot for Getty/AI/AP (or for a seperate employer) etc then maybe you don't need to hurry 'quite' as much because they know they are being paid regardless (I believe they are paid a shift fee rather than for each useage) and their shots are always going to be the priority for the papers. But when you're there in competition with them working for a smaller agency then the odds are already stacked against you because the papers will always look at what these big boys do first. If you get something different, it needs to be with them as soon as you can get it to them so that they'll take your photo into consideration.

I don't know if it just at the SoL and SJP, but I've also found that half-time and generally early in the second half is a signal 'dead-zone', where nothing sends as well. But this is probably only an issue when you are in a big ground with tens of thousands all using phones!

As I said earlier Phil, maybe give yourself a break for your first game, and send at the breaks in play pitchside, but in my opinion after that you really need to be getting used to shooting and editing live, because otherwise you're going to find it hard for your shots to be noticed ahead of the more 'senior' competition. Believe me, it's difficult enough even when sending live!
 
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Aperture87 said:
Well, you'll always prefer sending at half and full-time, there's a lot less stress that way! But, the competition won't be hanging around, even at lower league level the big boys will often be there and you really need to be trying to send before they do to stand any chance of competing with them, particularly if they happen to also have a runner doing it for them.

If you shoot for Getty/AI/AP (or for a seperate employer) etc then maybe you don't need to hurry 'quite' as much because they know they are being paid regardless (I believe they are paid a shift fee rather than for each useage) and their shots are always going to be the priority for the papers. But when you're there in competition with them working for a smaller agency then the odds are already stacked against you because the papers will always look at what these big boys do first. If you get something different, it needs to be with them as soon as you can get it to them so that they'll take your photo into consideration.

I don't know if it just at the SoL and SJP, but I've also found that half-time and generally early in the second half is a signal 'dead-zone', where nothing sends as well. But this is probably only an issue when you are in a big ground with tens of thousands all using phones!

As I said earlier Phil, maybe give yourself a break for your first game, and send at the breaks in play pitchside, but in my opinion after that you really need to be getting used to shooting and editing live, because otherwise you're going to find it hard for your shots to be noticed ahead of the more 'senior' competition. Believe me, it's difficult enough even when sending live!
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Valid points there mate.
I think it'll be good getting in the practice of sending stuff over as quickly as possible :)
 
redmonkee said:
Valid points there mate.
I think it'll be good getting in the practice of sending stuff over as quickly as possible :)
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Well, however you choose to do it, good luck, I'm sure you'll do fine after all your Farsley experience.:thumbs:
 
Good luck, just remember to relax.
The top guys and people who have been doing this a while make it look like a smooth operation so don't get flustered just remember the basics.
Sink or Swim time :)
Enjoy
Shaun
I would add, do your homework.
 
Everyone is different but try to form a habit. I usually download after about 10mins and crop and caption. Yjis way is the game is 0-0 you should have a couple of good action already. Is a goal is scored get is sent asap, same if only a cele shot.

If changing ends at h-t do so then go through everything from the first half. Start to ftp as soon as you can. Towards the end of the game download everything and start to crop & caption again but always keep your ears open (crown noise can tell you alot) and one eye on the game.

Dont forget stock shots. Sent them later but any such as man of the match awards treat them as live images, they often get used on Mondays papers.
 
Hi Phil, there is parking of a sorts for media, it is at the retail park/cinema side of the ground & is through a "members only" parking gate, show your DATACO Id card to the stewards & they'll tell you to go through the car park area & park on the grassed area :(.
No sorry Phil, i won't be there this week! but just keep calm & just get used to the speed of play, (you'll be surprised at the difference :) ). Most important is getting caption info/ file sizing etc correct so better sending 10 correct images as live as pos as opposed to sending many more that your not sure of the names of etc just to fill your qota!. As already mentioned once you've processed your images check through for any stock images to add to your FTP file, I do this at home TBH as they would be for Mon papers/library & there's time Sat night to sort through.
Stock images need to be a single player, not looking down but with ball & pin sharp otherwise don't send them. See you at a game sometime. Kind regards Graham
 
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redmonkee said:
Cheers mate. Gotta say I'm well excited to have a crowd of more than 200 people in my pics :D
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You will be fine Phil,

You are there because someone believes that you can do a job....All you have to do now is show them that they were right in allowing you to work for them....Good Luck fella
 
redmonkee said:
Do you think its best to have the laptop pitch side or in the media room?
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Pitchside. If something important happens you'll want to send straight away.

redmonkee said:
Also what do you do with your gear say for instance you need the loo at half time :D
or you have to go to the media room at half time, do you just leave the camera pitch side and get a nearby steward to look after it or take the gear with you?
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Go to the loo before the game. Stay pitchside until everything has finished or you get thrown off. Remember the Man U/Man City (I think) post-match warmdown fight a few years back. I only go back to the media room if I need to charge my laptop battery.

redmonkee said:
Also what time do you all get to the grounds for? I was thinking of getting there nice and early say 1pm or 1.30pm?
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I usually aim for 1pm to allow for hassle getting there, and especially if I dont know the ground. I'll usually wander about a bit if I'm there early getting stadium shots or pictures of people & supporters.
 
Hi Phil, If I was you, I'd concentrate on taking the pictures tomorrow and wire at half and full time. Concentrating on getting the shots, *** if you miss that goal or cele *** you are messing around with cards or lappy, you then have nothing to send amd what's the point in you being there.

Build up as you start notching the games up. Develop your own work flow. I have my way of doing things, this has taken me a while to build up... each game I may modify a little something. My way is different to Snapzz, which is different to James, which is different to Andy's which is different to Phil's etc. It's what works for you.

The important thing tomorrow is that you get THE SHOT, so do that. Everything will be new tomorrow so try and enjoy yourself and don't get too stressed about anything.

Relax and enjoy it!
 
And once you have finished off with everything I trust you will come back here and give us an honest appraisal of how it went.

Good luck Phil.
 
Hi guys I just thought i'd share my experience of how it went.

Well I got there for 1pm received my photographers pass and official club bib and proceeded to take up a position behind the goal where the Wycombe supporters were.

I ran off a few test shots and decided (due to the changing light caused by dark shadows coming from the stands) to shoot in TV mode with the auto ISO enabled on my 1D3.

Huddersfield were shooting towards me in the first half so I was hopeful of getting some goals at my end as Huddersfield were largely on top, but as it turned out it was a fairly dyer 1st half with barely any goal mouth action, so I focussed on the battles and tackles and got a little bit of stock.

Come half time and I was frantically loading pics onto the laptop and captioning. Now i wasnt the quickest at doing this but I know that given a few games I'll have this nailed as it really wasnt the big deal i'd built it up to be. Thankfully my Three network dongle worked perfectly and my Fetch FTP client worked a charm so no technical issues to report back thank goodness :D

Onto the second half and I took the gamble of staying in the same position as there was only me and one other photographer at this end. All the other guys were following Huddersfield Town and I figured if Wycombe were to score the players would run straight towards me with their fans being behind my back so i'd get the celes.

Well i've never been a gambling man and I know why. Town won 3-0 with all goals at the far end. I managed to grab some long range cele shots but nothing special as I had to crop heavily as I was shooting on the 300 2.8. I did toy with using the 1.4x TC but in the end decided against it :bang:

Anyway all in all a great experience and one that will stand me in good stead for the rest of the season:)
 
I am some what intrigued. It is clear from your questions that you have little experience in the work you have undertaken, yet an Agency was prepared to use you to cover a game.
Are you allowed to name the agency on here and the fee they pay /
 
Everyone has to start somewhere, Phil has already proven his skills as a football photographer at non-league level and based on this a small agency which won't be paying a shift fee (useage or bust) has given him a chance, based on that, to learn the technology and know-how to make a step-up and add to their team too. He has plenty of experience in shooting, it's just the technology side of it he was asking about.
 
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Arthur Bitter said:
I am some what intrigued. It is clear from your questions that you have little experience in the work you have undertaken, yet an Agency was prepared to use you to cover a game.
Are you allowed to name the agency on here and the fee they pay /
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I suggest you use the search filter and look for RedMonkee's posts and look at his photo's that he has posted, then you will have an idea that with his experience, he is more than capable of producing the goods.
 
Hi Phil :wave:, I am so chuffed for you that it all went well and not as bad as you imagined.

Now you've got your foot on the ladder time to start climbing - upwards that is :lol:.

Good luck for the future mate, you deserve it.:thumbs:
 
In reference to the (now edited) post #22.... tell me you and the OP at least get paid a split on any sales and are not doing this for free ?

As per Arther Bitter I'm intrigued to know the structure of how this works.
 
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You can be quite capable of producing the goods but I've all ways found that the agencies want you to be complete in every aspect inc the sending of live images from events.Hence my surprise at the original questions about transmiting live.
 
reefer110 said:
In reference to the (now edited) post #22.... tell me you and the OP at least get paid a split on any sales and are not doing this for free ?

As per Arther Bitter I'm intrigued to know the structure of how this works.
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I believe it can vary from agency to agency. Some may split 70/30 in your favour or 60/40, etc.
 
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reefer110 said:
In reference to the (now edited) post #22.... tell me you and the OP at least get paid a split on any sales and are not doing this for free ?
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Of course we do (if he is indeed with the same agency)! There isn't be much point in working for an agency for free (they'd have a tough time renewing their license with the FL at the end of the season without any proof of sales that's for sure!).;) I removed my part about us being at the same agency as I didn't want to make assumptions, and wanted to change my wording too, apologies for any confusion.:)

Edit - As AFC has posted above, that is how the agency (and other smaller ones) I'm with operates.
 
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Arthur Bitter said:
I am some what intrigued. It is clear from your questions that you have little experience in the work you have undertaken, yet an Agency was prepared to use you to cover a game.
Are you allowed to name the agency on here and the fee they pay /
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reefer110 said:
In reference to the (now edited) post #22.... tell me you and the OP at least get paid a split on any sales and are not doing this for free ?

As per Arther Bitter I'm intrigued to know the structure of how this works.
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hi there new members. Now you're not going to be troublesome with people shooting matches are you? I apologise if that seems a little odd but its a common theme here at the moment...

Arthur Bitter said:
You can be quite capable of producing the goods but I've all ways found that the agencies want you to be complete in every aspect inc the sending of live images from events.Hence my surprise at the original questions about transmiting live.
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Not everyone is 100% comfortable with modern technology, its likely that the agency felt that his shots are good enough to make up for a small lack of knowledge
 
Aperture87 said:
i
Of course we do (if he is indeed with the same agency)! There isn't be much point in working for an agency for free (they'd have a tough time renewing their license with the FL at the end of the season without any proof of sales that's for sure!).;) I removed my part about us being at the same agency as I didn't want to make assumptions, and wanted to change my wording too, apologies for any confusion.:)

Edit - As AFC has posted above, that is how the agency (and other smaller ones) I'm with operates.
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I should have been a bit clearer, I'm pretty familiar with the way splits work and the %'s involved... just concerned that some may be tempted to work for nothing, not the case here though it seems.


With regard to ... "There isn't be much point in working for an agency for free (they'd have a tough time renewing their license with the FL at the end of the season without any proof of sales that's for sure!)"

All the agency needs to prove is that they sold 'x' amount of pics to recognised outlets to renew the license....they dont need to show they paid you.
 
matty said:
hi there new members. Now you're not going to be troublesome with people shooting matches are you? I apologise if that seems a little odd but its a common theme here at the moment...
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No willy waving here yet :)
 
Why is it that 2 newcomers to these forums seem to think it's all well and good to question the integrity of a long standing and well respected member, I for one smell a rat.
 
Gary please no need to upset anyone, we will keep an eye on the spots talk forum and any deliberating bating, trolling or general sillyness will not be tolerated.
 
No trolling here, just valid questions which relate to an important side of the way the industry 'works' .
 
Gary Coyle said:
Why is it that 2 newcomers to these forums seem to think it's all well and good to question the integrity of a long standing and well respected member, I for one smell a rat.
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I'm not questioning any ones integrity. I was under the impression that you didn't stand a chance of getting any sports work from agencies unless you were highly adapt at shooting, had all the right gear and could send pitches at the same time. Hence the post caught my eye. Whats the point of joining a forum like this if you can't ask questions ?
 
reefer110 said:
No trolling here, just valid questions which relate to an important side of the way the industry 'works' .
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For future reference and so you don't inadvertently come across as a troll or stirrer, all the sports togs (is that a phrase you're OK with) on here fully understand the importance of being paid for their work and the harm giving photos away for free damages the industry as a whole, I very nearly had to quit and sell up not so long since because of such practices by photographers in my area.

We have done, still do and will continue to come down fairly hard on those who for whatever reason think it's Okey Dokey to give away work and harm the earning potential of full time and part timers alike, however there is an accepted way of going about this. :thumbs:
 
Arthur Bitter said:
I'm not questioning any ones integrity. I was under the impression that you didn't stand a chance of getting any sports work from agencies unless you were highly adapt at shooting, had all the right gear and could send pitches at the same time. Hence the post caught my eye. Whats the point of joining a forum like this if you can't ask questions ?
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See above post :thumbs:
 
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